A history of jazz + Blues | The Guardianhttps://www.theguardian.com/music/series/a-history-of-jazz+blues
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The first divas of the blueshttps://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/jun/17/first-divas-of-the-blues
1912: Number 2 in our series of the 50 key events in the history of jazz music<p>In 1912, the 18-year-old Bessie Smith had an audition with the Stokes troupe, a travelling African-American company. She was hired as a dancer, because the company already had a powerful singer in Gertrude "Ma" Rainey. Rainey, perhaps the most significant female blues singer of the first generation, was also one of the first African-American women to record. She had her own sound, a mix of an almost operatic power and the rough, moaning style drawn from early black folk music. Rainey taught the talented teenager Smith stagecraft and confidence and she went on to become the most acclaimed jazz/blues singer of&nbsp;her&nbsp;generation.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/jun/17/first-divas-of-the-blues">Continue reading...</a>JazzMusicCultureBluesThu, 16 Jun 2011 23:49:01 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/jun/17/first-divas-of-the-bluesPhotograph: JP Jazz Archive/RedfernsMa Rainey and the Georgia Jazz Band. Photograph: JP Jazz Archive/RedfernsPhotograph: JP Jazz Archive/RedfernsMa Rainey and the Georgia Jazz Band. Photograph: JP Jazz Archive/RedfernsJohn Fordham2011-06-16T23:49:01ZJimmy Smith switches from piano to Hammond organhttps://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/jun/17/jimmy-smith-hammond-organ
1953: Number 21 in our series of the 50 key events in the history of jazz music<p>Fats Waller and Wild Bill Davis were among the earliest jazz pianists to experiment with the organ, but it was not until Jimmy Smith, then an unknown Philadelphia musician, made the switch in 1951 that the instrument began to migrate from churches into the nightclubs of black America. Smith's blues-drenched albums on the Blue Note label started a trend and inspired such followers as Jimmy&nbsp;McGriff, Jack McDuff and John&nbsp;Patton.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/jun/17/jimmy-smith-hammond-organ">Continue reading...</a>JazzMusicCultureBluesThu, 16 Jun 2011 23:30:08 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/jun/17/jimmy-smith-hammond-organPhotograph: Paul Hoeffler/RedfernsJimmy Smith. Photograph: Paul Hoeffler/RedfernsPhotograph: Paul Hoeffler/RedfernsJimmy Smith. Photograph: Paul Hoeffler/RedfernsRichard Williams2011-06-16T23:30:08Z